Lee, the best way to keep after your rod ends is to have your wife grease them while you wiggle the wheel. It will be too hard for her to explain how tight or loose the ends are and since you are making the decision as to when to replace them only you can be the judge. Do it often and you will have a lot of fun working together;)
You are probably better off now without the deteriorated seals as they could have been holding dirt and moisture in and not out. Over greasing will not hurt and unless you are in a harsh environment I wouldn't worry.
You never know if you attend POG IV and have the rod end seals with you they may just get changed!
